TC and the American market
The MG T-Series in 1948
By 1948 the MG TC was selling in numbers to the United States, carried home by returning servicemen, despite being built only in right-hand drive. Mechanically it was unchanged: 1,250 cc XPAG at 7.4:1 compression, 54.5 bhp at 5,200 rpm, beam front axle, 19 in wire wheels.
In production this year
Production notes
- The TC continued in production through 1948, with a large proportion of output exported.
- TC numbers were issued straight through, so a 1948 build is established from the T Register record rather than the number.
Engine and chassis traits
XPAG engine
The 1,250 cc XPAG four-cylinder overhead-valve engine with twin SU carburettors, 66.5 mm bore and 90 mm stroke and three main bearings. Confirm the prefix stamped on the block rather than trusting a seller's description, XPAG engines were swapped freely over seventy years.
Right-hand drive, wire wheels, beam axle
Every TC was built right-hand drive on a beam front axle with 19 in centre-lock wire wheels. A left-hand-drive TC is a later conversion, not a factory car.
Reading the numbers on a 1948 car
- TC chassis prefix; XPAG engine prefix.
- A left-hand-drive TC is always a conversion, the factory built none.
Only the MG Car Club T Register factory production records give an exact despatch date. Enter your numbers in the dating tool for a likely span first, then confirm it against that record.
1948 cars in the registry
Verified survivors recorded here as 1948 builds. Owner-submitted, and a useful sanity check on what a car of this year should carry.
1948 TC, TC6470
Red · XPAG · Italy
Original engine XPAG 7153. A second engine, XPAG 7383, is recorded against this car, but the same number is also recorded against TC6693, so that record is uncertain. The car now carries a Morris Motors factory replacement engine, type XPAG, number C16625. Recorded in California in 1960, probably finished in blue at that time. Registered in Italy in 1991, probably imported directly from the USA. Restored in the 2010s. Bought by the present owner in April 2026 from a member of the MG Car Club. Source: the owner, and a published MG TC provenance list.